Die mechanism for wire coating apparatus



April 1, 1952 E. H. BRINK DIE MECHANISM FOR WIRE COATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1950 lNVENTOR E. H. BR/NK A r TORNE r April 1, 1952 E. H. BRlNK 2,591,505

DIE MECHANISM FOR WIRE COATING APPARATUS Filed May 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG? INVENTOR E. H.8R/NK ATTORNE April 1, 1952 E. H. BRINK 2,591,505

DIE MECHANISM FOR WIRE COATING APT-VWATU- Filed May 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3 6

//v VENTOR E. H. BR/NK ATTORNEY April 1, 1952 E. H. BRINK 2,591,505

DIE MECHANISM FOR WIRE COATING APPARATUS Filed May 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q Ma N 2 I .1? QB no A a l. I g

[AWE/970R E. H.5R/NK ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 1, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE DEE MECHANISM FOR WIRE COATING APPARATUS Application May 26, 1950, Serial No. 164,541

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to wire coating apparatus and more particularly to a mechanism in a wire enameling apparatus for maintaining definite positioning of the wires and wiping dies during the initial threading of the wires and also during operation of the apparatus.

In conventional types of wire enameling apparatus, many wires are coated simultaneously, these wires being withdrawn from their supply reels and guided by sheaves vertically through slots in a container of coating material, whereby excess quantities of the material will adhere to the wires as they travel through the slots. The excess coating material is removed from the wires as they pass through wiping dies, which are individual units normally retained in their relative positions by laterally extending fingers or pins. The wires on leaving the wiping dies travel through an electrically heated oven for baking the coating material remaining on the wires.

It is common practice to return the wire through the apparatus for additional coatings of the material. This results in a multiplicity of closely positioned wires traveling in their supposedly parallel paths under presumed like tensions. Although every eilort is made to maintain the tension in the wires constant, occasionally slack occurs in certain of the wires permitting them to bow out of their normal paths into contact with one of the adjacent wires. Due to the tackiness of the freshly applied coating material, these wires may stick together and, on the next pass, pull their wiping dies from their pins. When this happens, very heavy coatings of the inflammable material are carried into the oven causing fires.

In setting up this apparatus for operation, the wires must be threaded around the sheaves and through the oven the required number of times and then connected to the take-up reels. While this is being done any coating material which adheres to the wires greatly complicates the threading operation.

This invention has for its principal object, a simple but efiicient mechanism for holding the wires in a wire coating apparatus free of the coating material during threading of the wires through the apparatus and for holding the wiping dies on their supports during operation of the apparatus.

The structure of the invention includes an element in the form of a bar supported back of the wires while they are initially threaded through the machine to hold them free of the coating material,- and-supported in front of the wires ad-.

' being pulled off their supports.

jacent the supports for the wiping dies during operation of the apparatus to hold the dies from The support ing means for the bar includes members rigidly mounted with respect to the apparatus and having aligned sets of apertures to receive the ends of the bar at the threading and retaining positions. pressed plungers or ball members, aligned with the apertures therein, either of which maybe compressed with one end of the bar to allow movement of the other end of the bar into the aligned aperture of the other member and thus hold the rod in its threading or operating position.

Other objectsand advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a coating apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of a portion of the apparatus illustrating the invention in the threading position;

Fig. 3 is substantially the same as Fig. 2, illustrating the invention in the retaining or operating position;

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view of a portion of the apparatus illustrating the effect of the element when a slack occurs in a wire; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Fig. l which illustrates the apparatus embodying the invention. In this figure a plurality of supply reels Ill are supported on vertical spindles ll of a unit [2 whereby their wires 15 may be threaded around sheaves l6, l1 and I8 in traveling through the apparatus, these wires eventually traveling to takeup reels (not shown). In Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, the wires l5 are shown greatly enlarged, their actual size being more nearly that shown in Fig. l. The apparatus includes a receptacle 2% extending substantially the width of the apparatus and having the cross-- sectional contour shown more in detail in Figs. 2

and 3. The sheaves l1 and I8 have the conventional peripheral grooves to normally guide the wires in equally spaced parallel paths.

The receptacle has a diagonally extending front wall 21 with vertically extending slots. 22

for each wire orportions thereof travel-ing.

One of the members contains spring-' 3 through the apparatus. The receptacle is normally filled to the level shown with a coating material 23 whereby the wires (5 in traveling vertically through the apparatus will travel through their respective slots 22 and through a portion of the material 23 in the receptacle. Furthermore, there will be a constant flow of the material through the slots tending to flow down the wires to completely cover the wires with excess material. A trough 25 is positioned beneath the receptacle 20 to receive the material 23 flowin from the slots which may be delivered again to the receptacle by any suitable pumping means (not shown).

A channel member 23 extending laterally of the path of the wires and positioned above the receptacle 23 is secured in place with a support 2'! for sets of pin-like fingers 28.

The fingers 28 are employed in pairs to support their respective wiping dies 33. The contour of each wiping die is shown in the drawings, attention being directed to Fig. 4, as well as Figs. 2, 3, and 5. The bottom portion of each die has a large opening 3| while the substantially V-shaped top portion 32 has a small aperture just larger than the diameter of the wire to control the amount of coating material 23 allowed to remain on the wire. By viewing Fig. 4, it will be apparent that an upward pull on any of the dies would permit them to move upwardly with the wire until their lower portions engage the supporting fingers, the inwardly extending projections 33 normally resting upon the fingers 28 when the apparatus is at rest. The structure of the wiping die permits the die to float within given limits, controlled by the supporting fingers and the general structure of the die to enable the die to perform its function efficiently, during variations in the path of movement of the wire passing therethrough. The remaining structure of the apparatus is the electrically heated oven 34 to bake the material on the wire.

The invention includes an element 33 in the form of a bar removably mounted in the threadins position shown in Fig. 2 or in the retaining or operating position shown in Fig. 3. The supporting mechanism for the element includes a bracket 36 rigidly mounted at 31 on the member 21 and having apertures 38 and 39 at given positions therein. It will be noted that the apertures 38 and 39 are larger than the diameter of the element to permit movement of the elementwithin given limits when disposed in either aperture. Furthermore, the apertures 38 and 39 are of given depths to assure positive mounting of the element in either position.

Another bracket or housing 40 is mounted on avertical side member 4! of the apparatus which is provided with apertures 42 and 43 disposed in alignment with their respective apertures 38 and 39. The housing 40 has apertures 44 and 45 positioned in alignment with their respective apertures 42 and 43 and also aligned hollow portions 46 and 41 of the housing wherein springs 48 and 49 and their plungers or ball members 5B and 5| are disposed. A cover 52 is secured in place by suitable means (not shown) and the housing is mounted on the side member 4| in any desired manner. It will be noted that the ball members and 5| are free to move in their hollow portions 46 and 41 but are larger in diameter than the diameter of the apertures 42-44 and 43-45, they being larger in diameter than the element 35.

During threading of any or all of the wires through the apparatus, the element 35 is located in the threading position shown in Fig. 2. This is brought about by inserting one end of the element into the apertures 42 and 44, forcing the ball member 50 to the right (Fig. 6) to compress its spring 48 a distance sufficient to allow movement of the other end of the element into the aperture 38 as shown in broken lines in Fig. 4. The wires upon being threaded through the apparatus are held free of the coating material 23 although they extend through the upper portions of the slots 22. The fingers 23 are of suflicient length to support the wiping dies 38 as the threading operation continues, the dies and the portions of the wires being readily moved into operating position when the threading operation is completed and the element is removed from the position shown in Fig. 2.

It is apparent that during threading of the wires through the apparatus, without the presence of the element 35, holding the portions of the wires extending vertically through the apparatus out of their normal paths, each wire would travel through the coating material making it sticky and diificult to handle, particularly while threading the wires through the dies 30 and into the respective grooves of their sheaves. This difficult and undesirable condition is multiplied when two or more coatings of the material are required to be placed on the wires, making it necessary to rethread the wires several times through the apparatus. is in the threading position shown in Fig. 2 all portions of the wires remain dry and uncoated until the threading operation is completed, after which the element may be removed from its present position by forcing the element to the right (Fig. 4), compressing the spring 48 a distance sufficient to free the opposite end of the element from the aperture 38, after which the element may be removed and placed in the other set of apertures 4345 and 39. When the element 35 is placed in the retaining position, by first forcing the adjacent end of the element into the apertures 43-45 against the ball member 5i to compress the spring 49 so that the opposite end of the element will be free to move into the aperture 39, the element will engage all of the wiping dies forcing them to the left (Fig. 5) on their fingers 28.

The apparatus is now in condition for operation. If the tensions in the wires remain constant, the portions of the wires traveling vertically through the apparatus will travel in equally spaced parallel paths as illustrated in Fig. 3. However, if slack should occur in any of the wires, the portions traveling vertically through the apparatus may bow outwardly or toward either of the adjacent strands tending to whip the wiping die 2!] off its fingers 28. Without the presence of the element 35, this would occur. The excess coating material traveling upwardly with the wire would cause the die if freed from the fingers 28 to travel upwardly into the oven 34. The oven 34 effectively bakes the thin coatings of the material 23 remaining on the wires after passing through their wiping dies, but if large quantities of the coating material are drawn into the oven as a result of any of the wiping dies 30 being pulled from their fingers 28, this material would be ignited causing damage.

not only to the slack wire but to the adjacent wires and possibly to the furnace.

These undesirable results are avoided by the presence of the element 35 in the retaining position adjacent the fingers 28, the element per- While the element 35 mitting movement of the dies between certain limits yet preventing any of the dies from being pulled from their supporting fingers and traveling vertically into the oven 34 to allow excess or heavy coatings of the material to travel into the oven.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for coating wires having a supply of coating material, dies to wipe excess coating material from the wires, fingers to support the dies, an oven to bake the coating material on the wires and sheaves to direct the wires through the supply of material, the dies and the oven, an element extending transversely of the wires, and a mechanism to removably support the element at a threading position back of the wires to maintain the wires free of the coating material until the threading operation is completed, and to removably support the element at an operating position in front of the dies to maintain the dies on their supporting fingers during operation of the apparatus.

2. In an apparatus for coating wires having means to supply a coatin material excessively to the wires, dies to wipe excessive coating material from the wires, projections to normally support the dies and sheaves to direct the wires through the material and the dies, a bar-like element extending transversely of the wires, and spaced members rigidly mounted with respect to the apparatus and having aligned apertures to removably receive the element and hold it back of the wires during threading of the wires through the apparatus to maintain the wires free of the coating material until the threading operation is completed.

3. In an apparatus for coating wires having means to supply a coating material excessively to the wires, dies to wipe excessive coating material from the wires, projections to normally support the dies and sheaves to direct the wires 6 through the material and the dies, a bar-like element extendin transversely of the wires, and

spaced members rigidly mounted with respect to the apparatus and having aligned sets of apertures therein to receive the ends of the element, one of the sets of apertures being adapted to removably support the element in its threading position back of the wires to maintain them free of the coating material, the other set of apertures being adapted to removably support the element adjacent the said projections to maintain the wiping dies thereon.

4. In an apparatus for coating wires having means to supply a coating material excessively to the wires, dies to wipe excessive coating material from .the wires, projections to normally support the dies and sheaves to direct the wires through the material and the dies, a bar-like element extending transversely of the wires, spaced members rigidly mounted with respect to the apparatus and having aligned sets of apertures therein to receive the ends of the element. one of the sets of apertures being adapted to removably support the element in its threading position back of the wires to maintain them free of the coating material, the other set of apertures being adapted to removably support the element adjacent the said projections to maintain the wiping dies thereon, and spring pressed plungers housed in one of the members adjacent the apertures therein and compressible to facilitate placing the element in the sets of apertures and its removal therefrom and to hold the element against accidental removal from either set of apertures.

. EARLE H. BRINK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,253,173 Flynn Aug. 19, 1941 2,269,150 Flynn Jan. 6, 1942 2,293,379 Bruining Aug. 18, 1942 2,366,077 Wildy et al Dec. 26, 1944 2,407,337 Kolter Sept. 10, 1946 

